Real Reasons
by FeralShadowwolf
Summary: When Jack O'Neill finally decides to retire, what are his real reasons? And will Sam and Jack finally be able to be together? Jack Sam fluff, enjoy. ONESHOT


**Set a week after the season 8 finale 'Threads'. Short, sweet and fluffy :)**

* * *

Jack O'Neill strolled along the corridor of the SGC base, taking the time to really appreciate the walls, the stuffy smell in the air and the uncomfortable regulation boots he had to wear every day.

A few days had passed since the threat of Anubis' galaxy destroying weapon had failed to penetrate the Stargate, thanks to some miracle still unsolved. At first, he had assumed it was the work of an ascended Daniel on the other side, or whatever, but at Daniel's naked appearance in the Briefing Room, he had assured Jack that the miracle wasn't his doing. The look on Sam's face at Daniel that day still made him laugh.

However, the reason for his strolling down the corridor this fine morning was to tell Colonel Carter some rather important news. As he entered her office, he found her looking at a picture on her desk of her dad and her together; she had told him that it was the day after Jacob's health had been restored after the Ga'ould symbiote had been inserted. Apparently, he'd never felt more alive after that day and to celebrate he took her to the park where she used to play as a child. She said she hadn't seen him so happy in such a long time.

Surprising, Sam had taken her father's death very well considering he'd only been in the hospital bed and alive a few days before. She said that the 4 years extra she got with him were a gift in itself, and was thankful for them. But, as Jack knew from experience, the sting of death was never painless, and he promised her he'd be there for her, 'always'.

"Hey Carter." He walked through her door without knocking.

"Sir," She looked up, his entrance interrupting her thoughts, then stood up out of respect.

He motioned her to sit back down as he sat in the chair opposite her; he looked at the picture himself, even she was smiling. "How are you holding up?"

She sniffled, obviously memory lane had been walked down a few times before his arrival. "Been better." She smiled, grateful that he was here. "I'll be fine."

"I'm here for you, if you need a friend." Jack smiled reassuringly. In Sam's head, she replayed her father's words 'Don't let rules and regulations stop you from having everything you want'. She smiled to herself: her father was never an intuitive person, meaning it must have been obvious to him how she felt about General O'Neill.

"Thank you, sir." She nodded appreciatively. Inside she knew that no matter how she felt about Jack, and no matter her father's optimistic words, that's all they were: distant dreams.

"Actually, that's kinda what I came here to talk to you about." Jack smiled awkwardly, Sam didn't understand what he meant. "I'm retiring."

"You're retiring?" Sam repeated in disbelief. "But… why?"

"A number of reasons." Jack shifted in his chair. "I just think that I've done all I can here. Obviously, I'm not needed in the official capacity here, and I just think it's time to kick back, relax, do some fishing."

"But, sir, you love the Stargate Programme." Sam rebutted, completely confused as to why he would give up such a fantastic, varied job.

"Yes, and although that's true, I've given up a lot being with the Air Force _and_ this programme, I just think I've given all I can and now it's time for me to retire." He explained, and she just nodded seemingly understandingly after she'd stopped staring in scepticism. "Plus, with me out of service, I do things I couldn't before… see people I couldn't before." He looked to her, though she just averted her eyes and nodded.

"Well, I'm sure you and Kerry can –" Sam began, shuffling her papers around her desk.

"Actually, Kerry decided we should just be friends." Jack informed her, and her eyes instantly met his.

"Oh?" She half smiled, though tried to keep it as hidden as possible.

"Yeah," He exhaled. "Turns out she could see something that I obviously didn't keep hidden very well, and she didn't want to invest in a relationship with someone who already had feelings for someone else." He looked at her and she blushed, averting her eyes once she realised what he meant.

"Oh." She smiled. "My dad actually said something along those lines as well. Guess we're not the most subtle people on the base."

"No, in fact I think Daniel had a pool going on when we'd finally…" He joked and she laughed.

She looked up to him suddenly. "You're not giving up here because of me, are you?"

"Maybe I am." He flashed his boyish grin, but became serious when her face filled with concern. "Sam, even though you are a part of my decision, this is completely my choice and it's for me as well as us."

She nodded, flattered by his words. "So we're finally going to do this?"

"Looks like." He smiled. "I'm giving my notice today, I'll officially be off duty in two weeks."

"Wow." Sam commented, taking it all in.

"Kerry said that the Air Force shouldn't keep us apart, and I agree. We've known each other long enough to realise that I'm willing to take a chance on this."

She smiled. "Me too." He held her hand across the desk, stroking her palm. "Might take me some time to stop calling you 'sir' though." She joked.

"Well, you've got two weeks to adapt." Jack advised her. "Technically, since I've handed in my resignation, I'm not your commanding officer anymore."

"Good point." She smiled, his suggestive grin giving her ideas she really didn't want to shrug off. Instantly, he stood, walking around to her side of the desk, and embracing her in his arms, softly pressing his lips to hers. Slowly they pulled apart and smiled at each other, finally getting what they'd wanted for so long.

Just outside her office, Daniel, Teal'c and a league of soldiers waited for the obvious to come. Daniel peered into Sam's office, finally witnessing what had been inevitable for years. "Alright, who had 12:24pm on Tuesday 24th?"


End file.
